Heath and Naomi go house hunting

Heath Ledger and Naomi Watts have returned to LA after looking over many properties including this one at New Beach Road, Darling Point.

When they weren't splashing around in the surf and dining at top eastern suburbs restaurants, home-grown Hollywood stars Heath Ledger and Naomi Watts spent much of their summer break trying to secure a piece of Sydney property.

Their house-hunting mission started just before Christmas, stalling only when they flew to Byron Bay for New Year's Eve.

With a rumoured $5 million budget, the pair were busy hunting for a modern three-bedroom home in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Darling Point, Bellevue Hill, Point Piper, Bondi and North Bondi were believed to be their preferred suburbs, and they didn't mind if the house needed some work.

A view was preferable, but not essential. Privacy, however, was paramount. Watts had been craning her neck from outside various properties for sale, checking that the houses could not easily be looked into from the street.

And the last thing they wanted to do was to buy into a bland high-rise unit block.

"They want a private and exclusive well-located property in the eastern suburbs," said one real estate agent, who had spent the Christmas period busily opening up houses for the couple.

Rumours were rife last week that the pair had snapped up a property at North Bondi or a nearby suburb, but their publicist Emma Cooper quickly denied the gossip.

But she said that, while they were here mainly for a holiday, they did indulge in some house hunting.

"They both really like Sydney," Ms Cooper said.

"And Sydney is Naomi's home town. But they have left Sydney now. They mainly came here for Heath's sister's wedding."

Buyers' agent to the stars Jan Sutcliffe had been escorting the high-profile couple through many of Sydney's best homes.

Despite the rumours suggesting they had bought, she was also adamant that the couple were yet to purchase.

"The confidentiality of my clients is important," Ms Sutcliffe said.

Their persistent house hunting certainly caused a stir among many of the eastern suburbs' top real estate agents.

One agent described them as "hot buyers", and Ray White Double Bay agent Michael Finger was enlisted to show Ledger and Watts key properties. He said they were particularly interested in a Bellevue Hill house, but he refused to disclose the address.

"I can't say because they might still be interested in it," Mr Finger said.

Watts and Ledger were seen outside a glamorous home on New Beach Road at Darling Point. Raine & Horne Double Bay director Michael Pallier refused to confirm whether he had shown them through, but did say the house had sold to a buyer not connected to the couple on Christmas Eve for more than $3 million.

After a fun-filled summer break, Watts and Ledger jetted out of Sydney to Los Angeles where work commitments beckoned.

Watts, who is expected to be nominated for an Academy Award for her latest movie 21 Grams, will soon start work on the sequel to the hit thriller The Ring.